Viburnum-- Witch Hobble

I couldn’t let the name ‘witch hobble’ go without searching for some information. And so I'll share what I found. Viburnum lantanoides, or witch hobble, is in the honey suckle family, and therein lies part of the explanation for its fun name, even though this variety appears to be a shrub rather than a vine. It is also known as hobble bush and the folk tale goes that it was used by witches to trip those passing by. It has other fun names, depending on where you live, among them, tangle foot, tangle legs, trip-toe, dog berry (it has red berries in the fall), devil’s shoestring and mooseberry.

The names of native plants are rich with folklore, culture, history and imagination which makes them all the more special and intriguing. Stories are intriguing. Nature has lots of stories to tell.

Witch Hobble and Practice

“Don’t be afraid to answer the questions. You will find endless resources inside yourself....Even if you are not sure of something, express it as though you know yourself. With this practice you eventually will.”
--Natalie Goldberg, Writing Down the Bones Witch Hobble is a common name for this variety of viburnum, a native shrub that grows mostly in the northeast but extends as far south as east Tennessee. Each intriguing blossom is like a factory producing a whole village of tiny flowerettes, all of which, are encircled by graceful, snowy white petals. Witch Hobble? Don't you just wonder about the story behind this name?

A Tribute to Writers

"Remember life is an ongoing process of creation. You are creating your reality every minute. The decision you make today is often not the choice you make tomorrow. Yet here is a secret of all Masters: keep choosing the same thing....over and over until your will is made manifest in your reality."
--Neale Donald Walsch, Conversations with God
viburnum

My priority today and until it is complete, is finishing my novel. This commitment, that the time is now, has given me a new kind of respect and admiration for published writers. It is enough to choose this priority over and over again midst the trials that life throws your way and among other daily demands. But then there is the eye strain and the aching joints from too much stillness and the mind-numbing reading and re-reading.

I've always loved reading and writing, but this experience has given me an even deeper appreciation for those who have gone before me. And so I continue, repeating this phrase in my head over and over again--"every single day, choose the same thing, choose your novel."